Fresh from winning the Champions League in emphatic fashion, Paris Saint-Germain must now turn their attention to the Club World Cup and they face a stern test in their Group B opener against fellow European heavyweights Atletico Madrid at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena on Sunday.
The 2024-25 campaign will live long in the memory for PSG supporters as they not only became European champions for the first time, but that 5-0 success over Inter Milan in the final completed the treble for Luis Enrique's team, who also claimed glory in Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France.
Adding the Club World Cup to their trophy cabinet will now be the aim for the Parisians, but Atletico will also hope to go all the way in the United States and will provide a stern test to PSG's credentials.
With Brazilian giants Botafogo and US outfit Seattle Sounders also in this group, both of these teams will be determined to make a fast start and steal the early initiative in the section.
Team news
PSG are set to be without Ousmane Dembele for this game, and potentially the entire group stage, due to a quadricep injury.
Bradley Barcola could replace Dembele in the starting XI, but that may be their only change from the Champions League final.
Atleti are also expected to field a strong team as they have no injury concerns, with goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who missed the final match of their domestic season with a reported neck issue, having returned to full fitness.
The stats
PSG have won five matches on the spin across all competitions, the most recent of which was their 5-0 success over Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
Enrique's side won 43 and lost only seven of their 58 matches across the 2024-25 campaign.
Ousmane Dembele has had 48 goal involvements in 49 appearances for PSG during the 2024-25 season, scoring 33 himself and providing 15 assists.
Atletico Madrid finished third in LaLiga and were eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16 by bitter rivals Real Madrid.
Diego Simeone's side ended their domestic season with back-to-back wins over Real Betis and Girona, scoring eight goals across those matches.
These two sides have surprisingly met just once before in a competitive match and that came during 2024-25 when Atleti came from behind to win 2-1 at the Parc des Princes in the league phase of the Champions League — Angel Correa scoring a dramatic late winner in that game.
Prediction
PSG are riding on the crest of a wave after their Champions League success, but it is hard to know exactly what their approach will be for this tournament, particularly as it comes so soon after that emotional night in Munich.
Atleti have had more time to focus on their preparations given they were knocked out of Europe relatively early and saw their LaLiga title hopes fade over the closing weeks of the domestic season.
Simeone's side have also won six of their last nine games so are in decent form, while their hopes of making a positive start in the United States have been boosted by the impending absence of PSG star Dembele.
As they proved in the Champions League final, when Dembele did not score, PSG have an abundance of attacking talent to fill the potential void left by the France international, but Atleti are no shrinking violets in that department either, with Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth and Antoine Griezmann scoring a combined 69 goals across the season.
This should be an open and entertaining contest, and one that could go either way, so siding with four or more goals in the match may be the way to go.